Guadalajara B 2-12-2013

Hi family! Boy this week was busy! Are we really into December? I cannot believe how fast it is all going!

We had a zone conference this week, and I got a tie!

For those who dont know yet, President Souza gives a tie to every missionary who baptizes a couple, just to give incentive to baptize families. Elder Villalba got 3 (!!!) ties this time, and President Souza called him up with each one, one right after the other. It was incredible.

And I got some very trunky news. After the conference, I wanted to show a picture to President Souza, and he asked me if I already knew what day I was going home. When I said no, he looked at something on his smartphone and said I will be home on July 16th, leaving on the 15th. o.O I believe he said that he already told you guys, but its so weird knowing what day Im going home! And just after many of the aniversários, of birthday and wedding.

Elder R Barbosa is leaving I think next week on Thursday or something. Its so weird, and sad for me. On the mission, he had a huge influence on me. A lot of what I learned was from him, so hes a super good friend. I really hope I see him again after the mission.

So, Thanksgiving we ate pannetone and passionfruit juice and pizza! i took some photos for you guys to see. Im copying pictures to my new flash drive, so It will have to wait, sorry! We wanted to go all out and get ice cream and soda, but everywhere was closed at 21h20 (9:20pm) so we just went home and ate the prebought food. It was still really good. :) My package has not arrived yet. How many are coming? 4? :O

Dad, thank you so much for keeping up on my college stuff! It really means a lot to me.

A job would be really nice, so I think I will go with that option. Its good to stay busy after the mission. And I would very much like to be in the same apartment complex. :) Snow Lodge was awesome.

Talking to the counselor sounds like an excellent option. I think I have to change my major from generals back to engineering, and see if my UVU credits will pass to Snow. I hope they do, cause english 1010 is pretty standard.

Congrats on your shelves Dad! They look really awesome

Mom, I got some cooking lessons yesterday. I learned how to make Frango ao Molho (Souped chicken?) and rice with carrot shreds. :) Its super tasty, and even easier to make! I have to note all the cool foods that Im learning.

We do get an ocean breeze, but since we only have openings on one side of the house, the wind cant pass through the house. Its stifling. So, our hammocks here are a bit different from dads. theyre like a piece of fabric, no spaces. I think its a bit hotter, but I still like it.

Oh bother, my time is up. :( Love you all, hope you had a great thanksgiving! Alisha, get better soon, okay:? Love you Sarah! Hugs and beijos para todo mundo!

~Elder Wille

Note for the Maurer family: So sorry for the delay to write! But I learned how to make coxinhas this past week, and I can make them at home! :D

Happy Thanksgiving from Guadalajara 25-11-2013

Hello beloved family!

Okay, Im going to start with a story in Portuguese. Its something that happened yesterday. I copied and pasted from my letter to president souza.

Nós encontramos uma família que está super preparado para receber o evangelho. Estávamos andando, e senti a impressão de fazer um contato com uma mulher sentada na porta com a cabeça do filho dela (eu achava) e depois de um instante de hesitar, eu fiz o contato. Antes de qualquer coisa, ela nós convidou entrar e sentar. O filho em verdade era o esposo de união civil, com planos de casar o ano que vem. Conversamos, introduzimos o Livro de Mormon, e ela aceitou. Ela frequentava 15 anos na Igreja Universal, 2 anos como Testemunha de Jeová, e 3 de Católica. No fim, ela disse que ela tinha orado na Sexta-feira para que alguém da religião certo passasse e falasse trazendo paz. Foi domingo que passamos, marcamos a próxima visita amanhã.

And so! I almost have one year and 4 months, thats just crazy!!! 8 months left? where has all the time gone?

Today I got the chance to visit my first area! We needed to go to the bank, and we got permission from president souza to go there (the easiest one to find, and pretty close) and while waiting for the train to come back, I passed by França's house to say hi. He was super happy to see us, and he shared a very nice comment. He says that Ive matured a lot, that Im perceiving much more, becoming more responsible, and that my family will note a very big change in me. I thought that was super nice of him. :)

Dad, thank you so much for sending the music! It got here just fine, im going to buy a flash drive to put pictures and music and stuff. Its a cruzer blade, I think they only have them here. Its got a cool look, maybe you can see on the internet. R$25 for 8gig, how can i resist that price?? (and its not pirated either. :D)

About my packages being taped up, I think some of them have been. When I opened them, there did seem to be an excess of tape on all the openings. Maybe buy some Nossa Senhora stickers and put them on? Unless the post office people are evangelical, then theyll open it either way. :S

Im so glad to hear that the important project went faster than usual after the Honor wall.

Mom, we still dont have any fans, and last night it was so bloody hot! I couldnt get to sleep for forever. I debated splashing myself with water to help cool down, but decided against it. During the day it was pretty oven-ly too.

The hammock is a rather interesting sleeping experience. You cant sleep in it straight, it has to be an angle. For example, if the hammock is this direction | from above, you cant sleep parallel to it. You have to sleep like this |\| or |/|. or like this. Does that make sense? Its kind of hard to describe. Basically, you have to sleep at an angle on it, or youll hurt your back really bad.

Mom or Dad, could you do a big favor for me? Could you look at Snow's web page and find out when we have to register for Fall 2014? I just want a big huge heads up so I dont forget until too late.

I thought about a strange thing. Elder Alex Richey gets home in about 2 months! I cant believe how fast it has passed! Next up itll be my turn!

I have an idea for next Thanksgiving. I want to get a recipe from someone here and make something special for everyone. I know that everyone will like it. :D but I cant tell you guys, not yet.

Well, this is a pretty good letter, sorry about not writing more. I had something interesting happen at stake conference. I dont know how much I can say about it. But Im doing well, everything is just happy and hot down here! :) Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I love and miss you all! Until next time!

~Elder Wille

Here's the translation of the portuguese part, courtesy of google:

We found a family that is super prepared to receive the gospel. We were walking, and I felt the impression of making a contact with a woman sitting with her ​​head in the door of her son (I think) and after a moment's hesitation, I made contact. Before anything, she invited us in and sit down. The son indeed was the husband of civil union, with plans to marry next year. We talk, we introduce the Book of Mormon, and she accepted. She attended 15 years in the Universal Church, 2 years as a Jehovah's Witness, and 3 Catholic. In the end, she said she had prayed on Friday for someone to pass the right religion and bringing peace talk. Sunday was spent, we mark the next visit tomorrow.

Guadalajara 18-11-2013

Hi there Family and Friends!

Nothing too big to say this week. We finally got our furniture, so that was really nice. Still no fans, so we all still sleep in hammocks. Its a lot cooler than in a bed.

We dont have a propane tank (oh yeah, all their stoves are gas with a propane tank. Kinda like a barbeque, but different :P) so I cant make my delicious scones yet. The mission office will pay for one, but we have to do all the gathering and researching and stuff first. Its something like R$160 for a full tank.

Before the furniture (móveis) got here, all we had in our house for about 2 days was hammocks and bread. :) Seriously, it was great.

How was Enders Game? I actually did read that one in school. I loved the battle sequences, did they do a good job on those?

Dad, hows work going now that things are more relaxed? Whats the next big project? Any plans for home improvements? (maybe ask Tim Taylor for help: :D) Im going to put a birthday present for you in the Christmas package, Im sorry I didnt get it off sooner!

Mom, I didnt get a pooping snowman last year, I think maybe it was in the first Christmas package, the one that got lost.

And may I say that the spreadable fruit jam stuff was absolutely wonderful! Raspberry was the best one. Thank you so much for sending it! :)

What does the Bear Grylls poster say at the bottom? The bottom got cut off. :(

Alisha and Todd: What are you guys up to? Been snowboarding lately with the new snow? Theres a negative chance of snow here, Im really missing it. Actually, Im missing pretty much everything up there, but its only a bit more than 8 months away. And that is a very scary thought.

Whats new with school? Work? A question for Alisha, have any little childrens thrown up on you yet? :D Oh, I heard of something you would like. On the beaches, they sell pieces of roasted cheese on little churrasco sticks. I heard theyre pretty good.

Todd, I know you dont work with pizza anymore, but did they make chocolate pizzas at Papa Johns? With cheese? :D They do here! Or banana with cheese and cinnamon, Im not a huge fan of those ones.

Uncle Bobby and Aunt Celinda, how are you guys doing? Im doing very well here, halfway sun baked, but its good! Im loving the mission life, its so different, but it gives a good feeling.

Yo no hablo español mas, pero si yo pienso ... muito? consigo escrevir un poco. Yo olvidei quase tudo! É muito mais fácil para mim escrever em português. Ainda bem que Pedrinho serviu em Brasil, ele pode ajudar no tradução.

Eu sinto muito que vocês tiveram problemas de saúde! :( Mas fico muito feliz que vocês estão melhor. :) Mi hijo de la misión es de Argentina, ele mistura todo que él habla. Eu também. :)

And now for some english. I hope you have a fantastic holiday season. Im going to miss seeing you all at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was always a joy to see  you both. :) Happy Thanksgiving to you two!

I gotta go, they cut the time off without warning. Bye bye until next time!

~Elder Wille

Guadalajara B, (Caucaia) 11-11-2013

Yep, thats the name of my new area! I was transferred again. :/ But Ive returned to Caucaia! Its a different area, but in the same city that I started.

I spent one transfer in Montese, thats it. Unfortunately, we didnt get to baptize anyone, but thats okay cause I still learned a lot, including maybe this next thing.

I think I received a revelation about my future wife. Its a bit of a story, so here it goes:

During my first area, there was a lady who would give us lunch. She and her husband were both return missionaries. She was really nice to us, but other attitudes and actions made me think that if this is what returned Sisters are like, then I think Id rather pass. It just so happens that a sister returned in the middle of this transfer, and she was very nice to other people. I decided that what Id seen was just a personality difference, and that Sisters are okay in the end.

With that said, I moved out of Montese after just one transfer, so I must have completed my purpose. Im pretty sure that there was more than one purpose there, but Im thinking that one of them was to change my mind. That leading to the bottom line revelation: I think my wife is going to be a returned sister.

It might not seem like a lot, but thats probably exactly who I need to reach my full potential in this life. I could be wrong, but that seems like whats going to happen.

My new companion is Elder Bramwell! Its kinda awesome, cause we were house buddies in Good Garden (GOO-dji GAHR-deng) and now we are companions! Hes from Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland called Solon. Its the Kirtland Stake in terms of Church boundries. Im his step-dad (second companion)

Speaking of mission family, Elder Savaryn is training! :D :D Im going to have a grandson! And to top it all off, hes going to Boatan, my second area!

Another story, that Im seeing my Patriarchal Blessing come to pass right in front of my eyes. One of my inherited gifts is starting to come into play.

We were teaching a lady who was troubled about her son not calling while he was away. I had the distinct impression to say that if she does what shes supposed to, that her son will call that day.

A few days ago, I heard what happened. He called 40 minutes after we left, and later came home for a few days.

Quite a few things like this are happening around me, with other people. While conversing with Elder Galves, who returned home today, I learned a bit more about just how powerful children of God are. It really is scary how much power has been given to us.

About a Christmas package and presents, could you put $15-20 on my card to spend on movies? :D and the rest just hold onto for me? Im actually being serious. I can get about 1 movie per dollar.

Ah, and would it be possible to rip an Amy Grant Christmas CD (Dad, your quote is scarily accurate, how did you know I was going to ask?) and email the music to me? I asked the Assistants, and they say its okay. Im trying to make my last holidays as good as they can get. :)

So, one of my memory cards died. The slide lock on the side broke off in the Lock position, and it wont save pictures on it anymore. Luckily I can get them off, just not put them on. I left a card up there with Dad that I had just wiped, could you send that one to me in the Christmas package? thanks!

Dad, congrats on the huge success of your project! That is a huge accomplishment! I did indeed show it to Targino, and he thought it was pretty cool! I thought it was awesome too, even in just the minute or two that I got to see.

President Souza shook my hand today and told me that you guys had sent him a letter. He kinda forgot to share it with Sister Souza though. :S She will probably ask him to share it with her, but just to make sure, here is her email address too. elainesouza@onda.com.br

Well família, tempo está curto. Eu amo vocês, espero voltar tendo deixado tudo de mim aqui. Nós somos da casa de Israel. Levar o evangelho e o sacerdócio às nações é o nosso dever. Obrigado pelo apoio, eu oro por vocês todos os dias. Que Deus sempre vele e cuide de vocês em todos os momentos.

Com muito amor,

~Elder Wille

P.S. Did I make up for last week? :D

Montese 4-11-2013

Hey Family!

Before I forget, here is President Souza's email address for you Dad: franciscosouza@onda.com.br

Okay, news news news! This week was a bit better than normal. I had more of a Halloweent than the last year. We carved an abobora (it is in fact a pumpkin!)

I have a picture attached. Its actually more orange inside than out. We carved MBF in the back, but front to back so that it projected correctly on the wall. MBF is Missão Brasil Fortaleza. :) We took and left it at a dance later that week.

My itty bitty package came! :) And today we made the pumpkin scones. :) They werent super pumpkin-y, but they were very tasty. :) We had to use aluminum foil, cause this house doesnt have a baking pan. :O

On the picture, look at the chairs. We are actually sitting in them. ;D Cool huh?

Oh wow, I really dont have a lot of time, sorry!!! :( Im so happy that you guys had fun on Halloween without me. :)

Mom, Im using shoes again. :) This whole transfer too. :D The bishop had the ice cream and brownies. He wants to study up there in the states, just has to pass the TOEFL test. (remind you of someone?) He speaks pretty good.

So, the missionary talent show isnt until Christmas... :D We havent even started practicing yet.

Ah dang it, Ive run out of time. Have a fantastic week everyone! Enjoy the pictures, I have more but I dont have enough time right now. :( Bye for now!

~Elder Wille

Montese 28-10-2013

Hello family, friends, and other important people in my life!

Elder Phillips and I had this marvellous idea. Its P-day, and we have to do some shopping, so we thought Lets get an abobora or jerimum and carve a jack-o-lantern! :D As a bonus, we will toast the seeds and have a healthy snack to boot! :) Im thinking of getting one of those catholic shrine candles to stick in it, I hope it all works out! :)

I had a bit of an interesting experience. We knocked on a door and found a lady who is studying to be a Jehovas Witness, and we talked about prophets. She gave a few excuses that our work is good, but she believes differently. I bore my simple but sincere testimony about them and the Book of Mormon. It was interesting, because she began to falter in her excuses, not finding the sufficient words to defend against the attackless invite. I think that maybe someday she will remember those two peculiar boys who knocked on her door a half hour before going to study.

Trivia for you guys: Im going to enter the Missionary talent show by doing a medley of mixed hymns. For example, try singing the words of Joseph Smith's First Prayer (Que Manhã Maravilhosa) to the tune of Come Thou Fount. (not in the hymnbook) Its actually pretty neat, mixing hymns like that. There are a few more like that, some that fit, but dont combine very well, like Away in a Manger and How Firm a Foundation.

Dad, Im glad that you can see the end, and that it has an end. :) I would really like to share the website with Targino, he will probably really like it.

Im guessing canyoneering is pretty much over for the year, unless you decide to do a winter canyon like the Bretheren. I think I prefer summer trips, personally. Less clothing to worry about and lug around.

I think I like having Brazilian companions too, though Ive had very few of them. I have a bit of a hard time understanding missionaries that only speak Portuguese. The spanish speakers who are learning it too are easier to understand for me, so I think they are my favorite.

Eu achei graça da história do Secretário Executivo. :) Eles falam o senhor para os pais, em vez de você. Qual tu prefere? O senhor é bem formal, como usted.

Mom, we are finding a new house for the Sisters that are going to take over our area. I think its a good change, Sisters are a lot more friendly and natural at sharing stuff. I believe they will have good success here.

About the Chocolate... >:D We didnt find ten pounds, but we did buy one that beats out the Pound Plus from Trader Joe's (by weight, the flavor isnt as good) Its a 1,1 kilogram bar of Semi-sweet chocolate for R$10! ($5) Its double the size! :D But its also for making decorations and toppings, not specifically for eating. But it works!

Bem, quero falar um pouco de Português para todos vocês. Eu estou bem, eu comi brownies dois dias atrás, com sorvete de baunilha. Não tive o tempo de fazer cerveja de raiz ainda. :(

Alisha and Todd, how are you guys? When does school end? Vocês conseguem ler e entender o base de português como Pai? :) E bastante diferente, e divertido também. Eu acho que é mais fácil falar, é mais fluido.

Alisha, chegou a estar grávida? 'tou esperando! :P rarrarra. Como está teu trabalho? Você gosta dos meninos?
E Todd, teu trabalho está melhor? O que você mais gosta dele? Já foi perseguido por um cachorro? :)

Sarah, estou sem notícias de você e muito triste. :( Você está bem? Precisa de algo que possa fazer? Eu penso em você muito, e oro que você esteja bem. Vou te ver em 9 meses e poucos dias! Que incrível, o tempo está passando rápido demais!
Se Lembre de se divertir, e especialmente se lembre que eu te amo! Tchau minha irmãzinha! :)

Bem família e convidados, eu tenho que ir. Vou seguir o meu Líder de Zona que também era meu Líder de Distrito em Bom Jardim, e usar uma frase que ele usa: Tchau, beijos.

~Elder Wille

Montese 21-10-2013

Dear Family,

Your letters today made me more trunky than usual. :S Im pretty much forgetting when the holidays are, cause we cant do a whole lot about them. Ah well. :)

So, this week was a bit rough. We had to continue to look for a house, and we walked in a zig-zag to hit all the streets. I think we only found 2 new ones in 5 or 6 streets. :/ We make a few contacts, and most of them are people who live outside our area. The rest are not interested or too busy, so theres not a lot of success in this area of work. I have to admit, I was starting to get pretty discouraged, when the only contacts that have potential are ones you cant teach.

That was the start of our week, but happily the end was much better. It went like this:

I was doing a role-play/practice with Elder Phillips on the Sabbath Day, and he was giving the textbook answers, so I dug a little deeper. Paused the practice, asked him what it means to him, and he started to explain to me. That little inspired question led to a revelation. As he explained, I went back to the investigator role, and asked a question in that sense. Immediately the tone of the practice changed, the Spirit of the Lord entered the room, and I found what Preach My Gospel really does. Yes, it has the doctrines and stuff that we need to teach, but its not asking us to recite pieces of information that we learned from it.
Preach My Gospel works like this: It teaches us the principles so that we can recognize them in our lives, and then drawing on that, which is our own experience, we can share what the Gospel is to us. That is our testimony which is completely true, and to which the Spirit can bear testimony. Ive been reciting and applying the doctrine from Preach my Gospel my whole mission, and its given results. But using this method it will be many times more effective.

I learned that by accident, just trying to train my new son. I had an experience actually using it not too long after. We started teaching this elderly lady, talking about faith and repentence, because its something that Christians believe and would benefit her, despite her refusal to change from being Caltholic. Her adult daughter walked in after starting, and she participated in the discussion. (she too is catholic and has a teenage daughter who is a member) We taught what faith is to us, and what repentence has done in our lives. After that, Father had another idea, and we completed the Gospel by talking about baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. We invited them to baptism, and the younger mom accepted. I dont remember her name. D:

That experience changed our whole week. Even though the rest of the day wasnt too successful, that one lesson changed everything. It rekindled my flame for the Work, and Im much happier now. :)

Mom, my feet are doing great! Im going to Aldeota for my last checkup today. Theres no swelling, so I think Im all good to go! :) The tunnel has ended.

Dad, thank you for telling me about Cassidy Arch! Sounds like everyone had a pretty good time this week.

Im really sorry that this letter is short on notes to you guys, but know that I love you all! Follow the counsels of the Prophets and Quorum of the Twelve, they are inspired and are what Father wants us to know in these last days. The Ensign is scripture too, it helps resolve our daily challenges. Until next time.

~Elder Wille